


Gone

by chronicAngel



Series: Leaves in the Summer [28]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Lunch, POV Third Person, SasuSaku Month 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2019-01-08 23:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12264162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronicAngel/pseuds/chronicAngel
Summary: "Do you know how hard it is, when the person you're in love with is on the enemy side?"SasuSaku Month 2017 Day 9: Opposite Sides





	Gone

She and Ino have taken to going to lunch together once a month, during afternoons where neither of them are too busy with missions or work at the hospital. Of course, they don't actually eat when they go to lunch, which sort of defeats the purpose, but they're both avid dieters, and they're even less likely to eat in front of each other. Ino makes a few passing statements about Shikamaru that make Sakura raise an eyebrow, but it's not her place to question her friend's relationships.

"He left one of his jackets at my apartment the other day... I should probably head out early to give it back to him." Her tone is apologetic, but Sakura can't help but feel like it's an excuse. She hasn't been very fun to spend time with since... well, really since Sasuke left.

"Are you gonna marry him while you're out?" She doesn't mean for her tone to sound so bitter, but as she stares into the now-cold cup of tea sitting in front of her, stares at her reflection on top of the brown liquid, she can't help but feel bitter. Everyone is allowed to love except for her.

Ino seems startled by her outburst, face heating up as she takes a long drink from her tea in what Sakura suspects is an effort to hide the growing blush across her cheeks. "Don't be so ridiculous, Sakura! We're just teammates, it's not like there's anything going on between us. We stopped by my apartment after training and he must have just forgot his jacket, that's not so crazy, is it?"

She shrugs rather than answering, staring out the window and holding the cup of tea in her hands, feeling the warmth against her fingertips, without actually taking a drink, occasionally pressing it to her mouth as she contemplates speaking. Eventually, she turns her head to look at Ino, who is still sitting across from her and showing no signs of leaving, posture rigid; she looks like she's trying to decide whether she should reach out or not. Sakura's eyes are filled with sorrow, but they are devoid of tears. She promised herself a long time ago she would stop crying over a boy who would never love her back.

"Do you know how hard it is, when the person you're in love with is on the enemy side?"

Her friend's posture relaxes a bit, but her eyes fill with a sympathy that makes Sakura's stomach churn; she doesn't want this, really, but she knows that this is the way everyone looks at her when her back is turned. She supposes she can only be grateful that Ino is brave enough to give her that look in front of her.

It's hard, living in a village where the person that you've been in love with since you were only children is scrutinized by every person you dare mention their name to, living in a village where the only person you've ever been able to dedicate your heart to is considered a criminal. And she's not going to try to rationalize her love for him, she _knows_ that he is a criminal, she _knows_ that he hurts people, she _knows_ that he's hurt her. But that doesn't make it any easier. Her heart aches with longing every time someone laces their tone with venom when they have to utter his name, and sometimes it feels like the only person who could ever understand how conflicted she feels, how hard this all is for her, is Naruto, which is such a change from when they were children. She said, once, that he didn't understand anything about her feelings, even if he thought he did. She still thinks that was true, at the time, but it's not anymore. Now, they're the only two people in the village who even seem to have the capacity to forgive Sasuke for everything he's done, and everything he's inevitably going to do in the future. Maybe she's an idiot for it, she can admit that, but that doesn't make it any easier to let go. That doesn't make it any easier to deal with the fact that he's gone. That she's alone.

She realizes after a second that it's not sympathy that Ino is gazing at her with, it's not an understanding of what she's going through or an _attempt_ to understand it. It's pity. She pities Sakura, and it makes her clench her fists at her sides, even if she doesn't say anything out loud. Ino stares out the window that is on the wall next to their table, sipping her tea. "No... I don't understand that."

The honesty of the statement is actually kind of surprising, enough to make Sakura blink and snap her attention back to Ino's face, _really_ snap her attention, not just her eyes. After a second, she nods and looks back out the window, watching as civilians walk by, clueless. "...No, I guess you wouldn't. I'm happy for you."


End file.
